It seems rather poetic that Doohan's date of death coincides with the anniversary of the first steps upon the Moon by Neil Armstrong. It is doubly poetic given the fact that Armstrong himself spoke at the banquet during Doohan's Farewell Convention held in Hollywood a mere 11 months ago. "From one old engineer to another: thanks Scotty," was Armstrong's tribute to Doohan.

James DoohanMarch 3, 1920 - July 20, 2005

Discovery Blasts Into Orbit

The 10:39 a.m. launch into a cloud-patched Florida sky went as smoothly as any beleaguered engineer could have hoped, drawing cheers and applause from spectators and NASA employees gathered on a hot, breezeless morning at Kennedy Space Center.

Few characters in the annals of TV pop culture are as beloved as Montgomery Scott, the Scotsman nicknamed "Scotty" who always managed to give the warp engines that extra boost when the Starship Enterprise desperately needed out of a life-threatening situation. And the man who gave soul and verve to that character so brilliantly is just as beloved the world over, James Montgomery Doohan.

"Beam me up, Scotty" is one of the most familiar expressions to enter the popular lexicon from the world of television (despite the fact that, word for word, that specific phrase was never spoken in the show). Scotty was an icon, the archetypal fix-it man you could always count on to make things work. He was an inspiration to an entire generation of engineers and scientists.

We are deeply saddened to report that James Doohan, the beloved actor who portrayed engineer "Montgomery Scott" in the original Star Trek and seven movies, has passed away. He was 85. Doohan died in his sleep at his home in Redmond, Washington, at 5:30 a.m. local time with his wife Wende at his side. . .